Artificial intelligence (AI) is already reading minds, literally. Brain-computer interfaces can let people send messages or move prosthetic limbs just by thinking. But while AI offers incredible breakthroughs in medicine and safety, it’s also being used to exploit, deceive, and disrupt.

How do we harness AI’s potential while guarding against its dangers? From cybersecurity threats and digital exploitation to the future of work and wages, this panel of experts will explore the risks and rewards of AI’s rapid rise.

The image above was generated using AI.

The experts

Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert, philosopher and Principal Lead at the Ethics Lab, University of Tasmania
Dr Joel Scanlan, Senior Lecturer and researcher in cybersecurity and privacy at the University of Tasmania
Mars Buttfield-Addison, Specialist Software Developer, University of Tasmania
Hosted by Dr Jac Charlesworth, Director Data and Digital Research, University of Tasmania

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Pre-event refreshments

Head to the venue early and enjoy complimentary refreshments from 5.30pm.

About the experts

Dr Joel Scanlan is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania. He specialises in cybersecurity and privacy and has been teaching and consulting with the industry for 20 years. His primary research interests relate to the technical and social harms of the internet, with a particular focus on child exploitation prevention, cybersecurity and machine learning. His research involves collaborating closely in multiple-disciplinary teams from psychology and law.

Associate Professor Fred Gilbert is an Associate Professor in Ethics and Philosophy at the University of Tasmania. His research focuses on the ethical issues raised by brain-computer interfaces and intelligent autonomous systems. He has pioneered significant work on the interaction between human and artificially intelligent neural devices implanted in the brain, particularly within the context of AI ethics.

Mars Buttfield-Addison is a developer of specialised software used across astronomy, space weather modelling, asteroid and space debris tracking, and more. She is currently working toward a PhD at the University of Tasmania on adaptation of non-traditional hardware to track satellites. Prior to space, Mars worked in more traditional computing: software development, machine learning, and high-performance computing. She shares her love of tech through diverse freelance and volunteer work: public speaking, writing books, teaching AI and data science, developing apps and educational materials, and contributing to Open Source.

Dr Jac Charlesworth spent 15 years as a computational geneticist, sequencing the genomes of people to look for genetic variation underlying conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Her love of data led her on a side quest into IT where she took on the leadership of all things Digital Research at the University of Tasmania, including the high-performance computing clusters and research data storage. She is now the Director, Data and Digital Research at the Uni and has been deeply involved in helping the University leadership and wider community engage with generative AI - including establishing governance and guardrails as well as practical local implementations of AI.

Parking

Free parking, including accessible spaces, is available at the venue.

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Contact the host of The Promise and Perils of AI